Report looks at numbers of child deaths in Georgia

MACON, Ga. (AP) — A state agency has issued its first-ever yearly report on deaths of children involved in the child protection system. It found unusually high numbers of deaths in some parts of Georgia.

The report by the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services analyzed the causes of the deaths and identified ways the agency could improve both its prevention and responses to deaths.

Agency spokeswoman Susan Boatwright called the number of deaths in the central Georgia and southwest Georgia regions "unusually high" relative to their populations.

Boatwright told The Telegraph (http://bit.ly/15jWaXP) that officials are looking at the numbers in those parts of the state and questioning what is behind them. She said they are looking very carefully to see whether those numbers are an anomaly or a trend.